St Bees Priory

St Bees, United Kingdom

No longer standing

Demolished or destroyed.

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St Bees Priory, the parish church of St Bees in Cumbria, England, stands on the site of a pre-Norman religious settlement. Founded as a Benedictine priory by William Meschin, the first Norman Lord of Egremont, the church was built around 1120 and dedicated by Archbishop Thurstan of York between 1120 and 1135 in Norman architectural style. Sculptural and charter evidence indicates the priory functioned as a principal centre of religious influence in western Cumbria, commanding an extensive parish with detached portions across much of the Western Lakes region. Following its dissolution in 1539, the priory buildings were repurposed as the Anglican parish church, and today remain Grade I listed structures.